Local Government: Provisional Finance Settlement

Lord Bassam of Brighton Excerpts

Wednesday 19th December 2012 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Anelay of St Johns]

My Lords, I beg to move that the House do now adjourn. That is something that is said every day that the House sits, but it is very special at this time of year. It is customary, and my privilege, to pay tribute to our staff on behalf of the whole House. The staff have supported us throughout the year. They do so with great professionalism and dedication, which I know is recognised and appreciated by us all.

This is also an opportunity to put on record our particular thanks to long-serving members of the staff who have recently retired or who are about to do so. I would like to begin by acknowledging the work of Mr Allan Roberts, who retires as Counsel to the Chairman of Committees at the end of next month. His office goes back more than 200 years and was originally established to provide legal support for the Lord Chairman’s responsibilities for private legislation. We now see few private Bills compared with those early days when the construction of canals, turnpikes and railways was at its peak. In modern times, the House’s need for legal services in other areas has continued to grow. We have seen much of that quite recently. Mr Roberts now leads a team of three lawyers which, as well as dealing with private business, also provides advice to the Clerk of the Parliaments and other parts of the House administration and to committees on very diverse topics such as statutory instruments, ecclesiastical measures, delegated powers and Bills.

I know that the House will miss not only his considerable professional skills, but also his sound judgment and his quiet dedication to supporting us in our legislative work. The respect in which we all—both Opposition, Cross Bench and the Government—hold the Delegated Powers Committee has, for many years, been in large part due to Mr Roberts’s measured legal advice. We wish him well in his retirement, which I understand should afford him the chance to follow even more closely the fortunes of—this is a football club I do not usually make reference to but I will this time—Tottenham Hotspur Football Club in which he takes a keen interest.

I would also like to thank Rosemary Mannering, who is retiring after 25 years working in the House. Rosemary started work in the Public Bill Office in 1987, but for the past 15 years she has worked as a committee assistant, supporting the Justice, Institutions and Consumer Protection Sub-Committee of the European Union Committee. The Committee Office has had a particularly busy year supporting our increased committee activity and we owe a great debt of gratitude to all those who work, usually of course behind the scenes, to make all that possible. Our Select Committees are so rightly praised as the jewel in the crown of the work of this House. Rosemary is regarded with much affection by all those who have worked with her and I understand that many clerks and chairmen have had particular cause to thank her for her scrupulous attention to detail and thorough proof reading, something which I cannot do. That has prevented such infelicities as “daft legislation”. Hey ho. Good luck to those who will continue her dutiful work. I am sure that the House will wish to join me in wishing Rosemary all the best for her retirement, which will certainly be starting in the right way with a visit to the Tate’s excellent pre-Raphaelite exhibition.

Finally, I would most warmly like to thank Peggy Vega Byatt whose friendly service in the various bars around the House—that sounds awful but we know what we mean—will be familiar and welcome to all of us. What may be less well known is that Peggy started working in Peers’ Dining Room in 1974, which means that she has clocked up a very impressive 38 years of service. I understand, therefore, that in the case of many hereditary Peers, she has served multiple holders of the title in the family along the way. I am sure she has trained them well and I am sure we wish her all the very best in her retirement and in her relocation to Spain with her husband. I understand that she plans to visit when she returns to the country on holiday, and we look forward to seeing her back around the House, I hope, before too long. She really is a very special person in this House, and I know that many Peers have taken the opportunity over the past weeks and months to make a personal statement to her of how much they have appreciated what she has done and how we really will miss her.

All that remains for me to do is to wish all Members and staff of this House a most restful and enjoyable Christmas. Before this House adjourns, I know that the noble Lord, Lord Bassam, the Opposition Chief Whip, will wish to speak, and that the deputy Convenor of the Liberal Democrat Benches, the noble Lord, Lord Dholakia, and the Convenor, the noble Lord, Lord Laming, will also wish to make their contributions.

[Lord Bassam of Brighton]

My Lords, I am most grateful to the Government Chief Whip for enabling us all to pass on our good wishes to our staff and our thanks for their long and active service in your Lordships’ House. At this time I always like to put on record my thanks to our catering staff, cleaners, conservators, police, secretarial support, librarians, and maintenance and security staff, because I know that they work very long hours on our behalf and do a fantastic job.

I, too, want to make particular reference at this time to three members of staff for their long service. The first is Elaine Morgan, who was a committee assistant in the Committee Office, and was also formerly a higher personal secretary to the Law Lords Office. Elaine had 23 years of service and has retired this year. She initially worked in the House of Commons—the other place—joining the Parliament Office in 1989. In 1998 she was promoted to higher personal secretary in the Committee Office. In January 2002 she was transferred to the Judicial Office, electing to return to the Committee Office in 2009, when the Supreme Court was established. She was highly regarded by all of her colleagues in the Committee Office, who miss her conscientious attitude to her work and her kindly and supportive manner. Elaine was one of the pioneers of flexible working among House of Lords staff and for a while worked on a week on, week off basis. She plans to start her retirement apparently with some home improvements—well, good luck to her; it is a very noble cause—but is also looking forward to having more time to pursue her hobbies of sailing, cycling and walking. She also hopes to do some voluntary work for local organisations in and around Chichester harbour in the very fine county of Sussex.

The second member of staff I want to pay tribute to is Simon Jones, who has been an executive officer in the Printed Paper Office for much of the past 30 years that he has worked here, and he has only recently retired. He joined the House of Lords in 1982 as a clerical officer in what was then the Record Office and is now, of course, the very well regarded Parliamentary Archives. On promotion to executive officer, he moved to the Printed Paper Office in 1990, where he covered the front desk, which he enjoyed very much. In 1992 he was one of three staff on a small team assisting the staff adviser to check the grading of staff right across the House’s employ. In 1996 he transferred from the Printed Paper Office to the Law Lords Library, and in 1999 he moved back to the Printed Paper Office, this time to deal with office supplies, photocopiers and the mechanics of making the office function well. That post was transferred to the Facilities Department in April of this year, and Simon retired on 27 October. Outside work, Simon’s interests include film-making, photography and art. He plans an extended break in New Zealand during 2013. Colleagues commenting on Simon’s hard work said that he was always helpful, unfailingly polite and an incredibly helpful and courteous colleague, and I am sure that all Members of the House who came across Simon would agree with that.

The third person I want to make reference to is Richard Jacques. This is a rather sad one because Richard passed away this year very unexpectedly. He was a doorkeeper and joined the staff here in 2003 following a very long career in the RAF. Doorkeepers tell me that he was very watchful and mindful of the health of colleagues in the House, particularly Members of the House. During his time in the RAF, Mr Jacques was highly trained in the field of medicine, and his final years in the RAF were spent at RAF Lyneham as part of a tactical medical team flying all over the world to bring casualties back to the United Kingdom —no easy task.

Sadly, Mr Jacques was found dead at his home in Lyneham at the end of September. I know that everyone in the House who knew Mr Jacques was saddened by that, especially his colleagues.

I know that three other Doorkeepers are leaving the employ of the House; Mr Duff, Mr Benny and Mr Dryden. They are all formerly Metropolitan Police officers. It is not my intention to go on at length about their great service here, but I know that we will all miss them. Their good humour, their wit and careful and watchful eye keeps us all in good order and ensures that the House functions as it should.

It remains to me, too, to say a word of thanks to all Members of the House for their tireless work and to pay tribute to the Government Chief Whip for the courteous way in which she conducts business. I pay tribute to her work in the usual channels. I wish everyone else in the House a happy Christmas and all the best for the new year.